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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454157">better</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceUnicornDot/pseuds/SpaceUnicornDot'>SpaceUnicornDot</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Final Fantasy XIV</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>During that but nothing specific tbh, M/M, Weapons storyline spoilers kinda not really?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:55:51</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28454157</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceUnicornDot/pseuds/SpaceUnicornDot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In the shadow of recent events, words are poor comfort, but Astor and Gaius know better than most that hearing them all the same can still make a difference. And Astor believes that is just what they need tonight.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gaius van Baelsar/Warrior of Light</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>better</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A very randomly timed snippet; I have a lot of feelings about these boys, and, one day, I'll get around to sharing them all, but gotta start somewhere. x,D Set sometime during the Weapon storyline, but?? Nothing in particular spoiled?? Probably after Sapphire, but, again, no specific references, so nothing to really be spoiled, tbh.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was quiet here. Almost too quiet. But it was also almost… fitting. For a place that hadn’t known peace in…</p>
<p>The night sky was clear, reflected in the waves rolling below. Astor shuffled a little deeper into the warm folds of his jacket against the evening breeze.</p>
<p>Such was the way of things, too often, he supposed… Peace very rarely walked with him, seemingly always just out of reach… There was always another battle to fight, or memories of those that had come to pass, something lost, something taken…</p>
<p>“You’re still here.”</p>
<p>Astor blinked, drawn from his idly drifting thoughts. He looked over his shoulder without turning, a faint, somber smile touching the corners of his lips at the sight of his company. “As are you.”</p>
<p>Gaius joined him quietly, looping arms around him from behind, an almost imperceptible sigh leaving his lips as his head rested against Astor’s. But he’d come to know him better than that. Ever the observant one, they said…</p>
<p>He gently wove his fingers with the Garlean’s, holding his hand against his arm. “We’ll figure this out.”</p>
<p>Silence, not unexpectedly, met his quiet assurance. He could feel the restless unease of his lover’s troubled thoughts without having to see the way his brow was inevitably twisted ever so slightly over golden eyes, the way a small frown would settle across his strong features.</p>
<p>Astor gave his hand a small squeeze as he closed his eyes, letting the night and the wind wash over them both for a few moments. He knew all too well that, as was common for people like them, such hurts would be ill-soothed by mere words. But it didn’t hurt to hear them, anyway, sometimes… He would know. They both would. And if anyone had a chance…</p>
<p>“<em>‘Better’</em> is a choice we must make every day, Gaius,” he said quietly, tracing his thumb softly across his lover’s hand, “but I <em>have</em> to believe… I <em>have</em> to believe it’s possible… I have to believe in <em>change</em>… Because what was it all <em>for</em>, if not..?”</p>
<p>The Garlean’s hold around him tightened, perhaps stiffened a little… before Gaius ducked his head to tuck into the crook of his neck. They both already knew. They’d covered the sad tales several times over by now… As one of the few that could <em>understand</em>...</p>
<p>Carefully, Astor unravelled himself from his lover’s embrace, Gaius reluctantly letting him step away, only to turn so he could return the favor, one hand reaching up to brush along his jaw to bring those golden eyes back to his.</p>
<p>“I still believe in that choice for us… I choose to believe in <em>better</em>. We <em>will</em> figure this out, one way or another… I promise.”</p>
<p>Astor closed his eyes as Gaius pressed a kiss to his forehead before wrapping his arms around him once more, tucking Astor against his chest.</p>
<p>“I love you.”</p>
<p>Astor held him a little tighter, nuzzling a bit more into his hold. “I love you, too.” This was just his time to return the favor. For all the doubts and the uncertainties, for all he knew it could be a foolish risk, in Gaius, the Warrior had found an understanding and safety he’d sorely craved, someone willing and able to look beyond the hero of Eorzea and recognize the <em>person, him…</em></p>
<p><em>Better. More.</em> They could be more than the Warrior of Light and the Black Wolf. So long as they were together. So long as they were <em>willing, remembered</em> that choice.</p>
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